You’ve Got to Watch This!

Way before viral videos, since the invention of the medium in the 1960s, artists have made video to critique the culture around them. Howardena Pindell delivers a direct-to-camera account of the racism she experienced coming of age as a black woman in America; Martine Syms tells her characters’ stories across several screens -- from flatscreens to smartphones. Abbi and the comedian Hannibal Buress ponder the sweeping shots in Steve McQueen’s video of the Statue of Liberty. Plus, hear one of Abbi’s own video experiments from her art school days!

Also featuring: Thelma Golden and Thomas Lax

Steve McQueen. Static. 2009. 35mm film transferred to video (color, sound), 7:03 min. Digital image © 2017 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: John Wronn.

(The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Michael H. Dunn Memorial Fund. Installation view, Inbox: Steve McQueen, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, May 3–Summer 2017. © 2017 Steve McQueen.)

Howardena Pindell. Free, White and 21. 1980. Video (color, sound), 12:15 min. The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

(Gift of Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley, Anna Marie and Robert F. Shapiro, and Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis. © 2017 Howardena Pindell. Courtesy of the artist and The Kitchen, New York)

Installation view of Projects 106: Martine Syms.

(The Museum of Modern Art, New York, May 27–July 16, 2017. © 2017 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: John Wronn)